June 22, 2010

A soldier has been carpeted by top brass after a foulmouthed internet rant claiming soldiers were right to open fire on the Bloody Sunday marchers.

Fusilier John Allison, 20, is also facing disciplinary action for drumming up support for the BNP. The dog handler serves with Fusiliers 2 Scots Battalion and has toured Afghanistan's Helmand province. But he's been hauled over the coals after launching a tirade on his Facebook page after the Saville Inquiry last week condemned troops for killing 14 people during a civil rights demo in 1972.

But in a message peppered with swear words, Allison wrote: "The Saville Report is a lot of s****. The soldiers were right to shoot the ***** on Bloody Sunday. Rule Britannia."

Allison went on to describe 1st Battalion The Parachute Regiment, who were responsible for killing the marchers, as "legends". Army bosses also discovered that Allison had tried to canvas votes for the BNP on his web page the day before last month's general election. Allison, of Paisley, Renfrewshire, wrote: "Vote BNP. Keep Britain British."

Serving soldiers are permitted to be members of legal political parties but are forbidden from campaigning.

Lord Saville's report ruled all victims fired on by the Paras were innocent and condemned the troops for opening fire in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland. An Army spokesperson said: "Neither the Army nor the Armed Forces tolerates inappropriate behaviour in any shape or form. Instances of unacceptable social media comments brought to the attention of the Army are investigated, and appropriate action taken."